19 April 2013

If It Feels Good, Must Be Dopamine

Did they spend a lot of money on this study to find this out? And who gets to participate in these studies?

"If you take just a sip of beer, and moments later—before you’ve had
close to enough alcohol to get intoxicated, perhaps even before
the beer has hit your stomach—feel a distinctly pleasurable sensation,
it might not be strictly due to subtle aromas that result from the
beverage’s blend of malt, hops and yeast. The cause of your pleasure
might be due to tangible changes in your brain chemistry—specifically, a
surge in levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine."

Do they
know about other things leading to surges in dopamine? Will there be
more studies? They could just pay me to tell them how to increase the
dopamine and pleasure in life.

Or they could just guess, like
this: "The researchers believe this could be a clue as to why some
people are predisposed towards alcoholism—and why it’s more difficult
for them stay on the wagon if they’re trying to quit." Yes, a clue!